Monday, November 27, 2006

The Amish and The CauliFlower

So The Amish County was visited and enjoyed. The idyllic green farmlands, the quaint villages with equally quaint names like Bird-In-Hand, Kitchen Kettle Village, Intercourse (ahem !!), the buggy ride through the Amish Farms, the Dutch Farmers Market with their fresh produce and the jams & preserves was thoroughly enjoyable , more so with the lovely weather bestowed on us since Friday.The little daughter was an angel, no throwing-up, no car seat blues, very co-operative during the entire trip, The parents were happy, The husband was happy, he got his own TV to watch while me watched chick-flicks with dear Momma (yeah I carried Movies as a backup plan for the Rains), The People who did business with the "Amish" as their USP were very very happy indeed, The Amish...I do not know.

Everything was fine except something that kept gnawing at the back of my head, that something called commercialization of the entire thing. I had gone there thinking there would be villages & farms and maybe a gift shop or two thrown in as is the norm but I was astounded by the bustling business that had built up around the whole thing and the malls that had sprung up to cater to the visitors.

Coming from a culture and a background where materialism is not the norm and simplicity is or at least was the way of life, I wasn't very amazed by the Amish way of living, though I am impressed now that being there bang in the middle of all those malls with brands screaming from BOSE to BASS they still adhere to their culture and lifestyle not perturbed by the "Amish" brand visitors are falling for.

All said and done, we had a nice break, I got lovely veggies and pickles & jams. I got a huge cauliflower so there I go and cook. I got this recipe of cauliflower called “Ada FulKopi” or “Adraki Gobi” or “Ginger Cauliflower” from my bengali recipe book by an author known as Bela De. My Ma too does this with a little variation, but the one I did yesterday was almost by the book. It is a very nice dish with ginger dominating the flavor and the taste is a little emphasizing the tartness of the tomato and the crunchiness of the cauliflower.

Cauliflower ~ 1 cut into florets. I used half of the cauliflower shown above and cut the florets a little on the large sizeBaby Carrots ~ about 10 of the small ones cut into halvesGreen Peas ~ ½ a cupGinger ~ 1” chopped fine in juliennes

For PasteOnion ~ 1 and ½ medium sizedGarlic ~ 2 big clovesGinger ~ 1 & 1/2”Grind all of the above to a paste

For Phoron or TemperingElaichi or Cardamom ~ 2Laung or Cloves ~ 2TejPata or BayLeaves ~ 2DarChini or Cardamom Sticks ~ about a 2" stickGolMirch or Peppercorns ~ 10Coarsely pound the above

Yogurt ~ 2/3 cupTurmeric PowderRed Chilli Powder (according to taste, I did not use any)Salt

How I Do It

Cut the cauliflower into medium sized florets (not very small else they will turn mushy while cooking)Chop the carrotsHeat Oil in Kadai/Frying Pan. Use Olive Oil if you preferLightly fry the cauliflower (no deep frying, more like sauté them) florets till Golden. Tip: I always add Turmeric Powder to the hot oil and then add the cauliflower to prevent the oil from spluttering. This also makes the cauliflower golden with light frying. Also cover while frying.Remove the florets and keep them in a bowl.Grind the onion, ginger and garlic to a paste. Keep about 1 tbsp of the paste for frying, use the rest in the next stepMix the yogurt with this paste and a little salt. Also add chilli powder if you want to the yogurt according to your spice level.Marinade the cauliflower florets with the above marinade for about half an hour.

Heat Oil in Kadai/Frying Pan. You can use the same oil.Add TejPata, Elaichi, Laung, DarChini, Gol Mirch as phoron or temper with thisAdd the finely chopped ginger and fry a littleAfter frying the ginger for a little add about 1 tbsp of the onion/ginger/garlic paste and a little sugarWhen the onion turns a light brown, add the carrots and peasSaute for a little while

Add the cauliflower along with the marinadeThen cover and cook till the masala is cooked and coats the veggies uniformly. This in Bengali coking term is called “kashano”

Add salt according to taste and add the tomato puree

Cover and cook till the veggies are done. They should be crunchy.Add a little sugar if the taste is little sour to your likingThis has very little gravy so adjust that accordinglyGarnish with coriander leaves

You can have this "Ada FulKopi" with Roti, Paratha and even Rice (I love my Rice :)). This can be served as a dish when you have guests over and also for your weekday lunch or dinner.

Trivia: Mark Twain said " Cauliflower is nothing but a cabbage with a College Education"

Love ur cauliflower recipe. Amish street names(intercourse) had prompted a spate of jokes in my house a couple of years back.i don't even want to remind my spouse about it now.Did u try their ice cream and pies?It is too good.

Sandeepa, looks like you had fun in Amish country visiting towns with names(???). Should put that on my places to visit. We have a store near my place where the Amish come to sell their wares. The place is always teaming with people. What I don't understand is when the veggies in the Grocery stores start to look pathetic the Lancaster Market has them fresh. They can't be growing them in Lancaster, PA during winter, do they must have some sort of exchange with their friends in Florida or a warmer place is my guess, curious to find out.

Cauliflower recipe sounds tasty and tempting. Beautiful color with the peas and carrots and tomatoes

Wonderful write up! I have always respected the Amish way of life despite the commercialization in the recent times. Glad you enjoyed your trip, and your cauliflower recipe looks really good, very different from our Gujju style of making it.

We have been planning to visit the Amish village in PA for the past 7 years! Not happened yet! Went as far as Hershey once but that's it! We'll do it someday, I hope! :)The gobi curry looks very good, Sandeepa!

This is my staple diet. However, I dont use ginger, garlic or onions. I add the phoron and garam masala ingredients in oil then add the florets .. add peas when they are almost done .. then add turmeric, red chilli powder and yoghurt and then salt and a lil bit sugar for the authentic bong taste (without sugar never got that).. The cooking time is shorter and it is a little light and not rich if u add onions ginger and garlic

looks absolutely divini... cauliflower is my fav veggie... cant wait to give it a try... just taking quick peek at ur blog, so didn't read the article u have written about Amish street... but photoes r gr8... i love to do food shopping, wish i get a chance to do shopping there sometime:)cheerssupriya

Thanks a lot for this one.Tried it.But this reminded me of a delicacy that maa used to cook often.Its the simpler "alu fulkopir torkari".No that I am experimenting with cooking, I am left in a lurch as to what foron she must have been using.Can you do a Alu Fulkopi torkari post.That ould be amazing.

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Very interesting,great colors, will try tomorrow. About the Amish - in spite of they being termed as the Dutch - they are all from Germany ( The Deustche , for ease of pronunciation , has become Dutch ) - did not know this till we took the guided tour in the Amish Village.

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Predominantly a Bong, who loves being a Mom and loves to cook among other things for the li'l one and the big ones.She loves to write too and you will find her food spiced up with stories. Mainly a collection of Bengali Recipes with other kinds thrown in, in good measure. A Snapshot of Bengali Cuisine